Babe's Great Wheel or Walking Wheel Assembly Instructions

1. Take all the parts out of the box, lay them out on the floor and study the pictures above.

2. Turn the 10" legs down and add the forth leg as pictured on the right.  It snaps on the pipe at the elbow.
3. Insert the right half of the base into the left half of the base at the couplings.
4. Raise the Spindle and put the maiden shaft into the coupling.
5. Put the wheel shaft together at the coupling.
6. Put screws in to hold the legs in place.
7. Put the 8 spokes on the wheel.  Using the 6/32 bolts.  Put the washer next to the bolt head and insert the bolt into the hole in the black wheel into the white spoke and put on the nut.  Put bolts in seven of the spokes.
8. Hang the red web around the wheel at the end of the spokes.  Use the unbolted spoke to make the web tight and install the bolt.
9. Tight all the nuts
10. Hang the drive band on the whorls of the spindle and put it place.  Note the loose string and use it to hold the spindle in place by using the Velcro.
11. Use the 1/2" Oak handles to help line up the wheel and spindle.  Use the largest whorl to learn to spin with on it first.
12. The wheel leans back a little so use the marks on the two tees to line it up and put in the screw to hold it in place.
13. Push back the maiden shaft until the marks line up on the two tees and put in the screws.
14. OIL where the spindle contacts the PVC.
15. Try Spinning.  You need to hold the leader at a 45 Degree angle from the point as you spin with the right hand and you hold the roving and leader in you left hand.  You have to draft back with your left hand which takes a little practice if you have been spinning with a regular spinning wheel.

Spinning Instructions

These are from the liten Spindel instructions.

1. Put a three foot yearn leader on the spindle by using push the yarn on the Babe aids (black Velcro dots) and turn the wheel to the right.
2. Take a four or five inch piece of the cotton roving and fold in half over your index finger. Put the leader under your thumb while holding it about six inches and a 45 degree angle from the spindle and spin the wheel a few times while pulling back with your left hand. You might have to help the draft get started with your right hand by using your index finger and thumb to untwist the yarn as you draft back with your left hand. Turn the wheel a few times and repeat the process. You will soon learn how to keep drafting and turning the wheel at the same time.
3. When you have a new yarn about two or three feet long turn the wheel and give the yarn some extra twist. When you get the yarn a little slack you should get a pig tail in the yearn about 1/2" long. Then turn the wheel to the left a little bit so the point will be clear of yarn. Raise the yarn up in front of you and wind it on the spindle.
4. Repeat above process until you have spun what you want.
5. Have fun spinning yarn.

The book I would suggest is Hands on Spinning by Lee Raven available from Babe's Fiber Garden, LLC. <http://www.babesfibergarden.com> It has a couple of pages of spinning on a spindle, but is a good overall book on spinning. Page 75 explains from the fold the above process.